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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — With a real 'rocket's red glare' awaiting
them , the four American astronauts who will fly NASA's final
space shuttle mission made an Independence Day arrival today at
their Florida launch site for a planned July 8 liftoff.

"I think I speak for the whole crew that we are just delighted to
be here. After a very arduous nine month training flow, we're
thrilled being here for launch week," said the mission's
commander Chris Ferguson.

The Atlantis shuttle crew departed midday aboard two T-38
supersonic jets from Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, for their
Fourth of July arrival here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at
just past 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT).

The astronauts touched down on the same runway where, nearly two
weeks after launching, they plan to land space shuttle Atlantis
for the final time in the winged spacecraft fleet's 30-year
history.

"When it's all over, I think I again speak for everyone when I
say that we'll be very proud to put the right-hand bookend on the
space shuttle program," Ferguson said.

NASA's final shuttle flight, called STS-135, is a 12-day
mission to deliver vital supplies to the International Space
Station. Liftoff is scheduled for Friday, July 8 at 11:26 a.m.
EDT (1526 GMT) from Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39A. NASA will start its
official countdown clocks on Tuesday at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) at
the T-43 hour mark.

"This is a day that is decidedly American. A day when we kind of
reflect on our independence and all the wonderful things that we
really have as a part of being a United States of America," said
Ferguson of his and his crewmates’ July 4 arrival.

Reflecting may be the only holiday activity the astronauts take
part in, foregoing the traditional fireworks show in favor of
pre-launch activities.

"The big highlight of the [crew's Independence] day will be the
jet ride from Ellington to Florida," NASA spokesperson Nicole
Cloutier-Lemasters, of the agency's Johnson Space Center, told
SPACE.com before the crew arrived in Florida. [ Best
Space Fireworks Ever ]

With their family members following later, the four Atlantis
astronauts — Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists
Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim — will spend the remainder of the
holiday reviewing procedures before turning in for an early
night.

"They'll have a [pressure] suit tech and flight data file tag up,
just a chance to checkout some of that gear," Cloutier-Lemasters
said. "Then they'll have meal time and then some personal time to
study or relax."

"That will pretty much wrap up their day," she said. "They'll be
hitting the hay around 8 p.m."

Their own light show

Should the weather cooperate, space shuttle Atlantis will provide
the ultimate rocket show on Friday, launching on the 135th and
final flight of
NASA's shuttle program.

NASA anticipates nearly 1 million spectators to fill the beaches
and roads near Kennedy Space Center to watch the orbiter lift off
for space one last time.

NASA is retiring its three-shuttle fleet this year to make way
for a new exploration program aimed at deep space missions to an
asteroid and Mars. The shuttles Discovery and Endeavour completed
their own final missions earlier this year.

"We just want to honor the entire Kennedy team that has worked on
these magnificent machines over the last 30 plus years," Hurley
said.

The crew plans several tributes during the mission to the iconic
American vehicle and its legacy of the shuttle within the
nation's space program. Among their announced activities is the
display of a U.S. flag honoring fallen soldiers, police,
firefighters and astronauts.

The shuttle flyers will also partake in an "All-American" meal
that was originally intended to be eaten on July 4. But delays
pushed their launch beyond Independence Day.

"It's such a pleasure to come down here when you have a rocket on
the pad and it's got your stuff loaded on it," Walheim said.